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F1 will kick off its 2025 season at the Sakhir International Circuit in Bahrain for the official pre-season testing from February 26 to 28. There has been a lot of excitement and anticipation in the lead-up to this year due to massive driver and team personnel changes throughout the 2024 season.
The 2024 campaign finished on a high with four teams fighting for race wins every weekend with seven drivers winning multiple times last year. After getting a glimpse of the cars during the F1-75 Launch event at the O2 Arena in London on February 18, the pre-season testing will give a first look at them during the rounds on track.
The three-day testing will see drivers split duties among each other with either getting one and a half days inside the car. Below is the list of driver lineups for each day at the 2025 Pre-season testing:
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#Mercedes F1
George Russell will have a new teammate alongside him in favor of Kimi Antonelli, who replaces Lewis Hamilton in the German team. The Italian rookie has captured a lot of headlines already with his accelerated junior career that saw him skip F3 and have a sole year in F2.
The 18-year-old will take the morning shifts to drive the W16 on February 26 and 28 while Russell taking the role in the evenings. The Brit will drive in the morning session in the middle day to give his Italian counterpart his first experience of driving an F1 car under the lights.
#Red Bull
Red Bull have thus far flown under the radar of the spotlight heading into the 2025 season. The Austrian team who have dominated the current generation of cars lost their hold over the constructors championship last year to McLaren and even fell behind Ferrari.
With a fresh lineup of Max Verstappen and Liam Lawson, the Milton-Keynes outfit will head to Bahrain to test out their RB21. Both drivers will be sharing duties on Day 1 with the Dutchman heading the morning season before passing to his young teammate. However, the four-time F1 world champion will have an entire day two to himself and leave the final day of testing to Lawson.
#Aston Martin
Aston Martin might not have too many expectations from the 2025 season given their focus has been on the engine regulations next year. The 2026 campaign will also see them race with Honda engines at the back and have a completely new Adrian Newey-designed car. The British team have kept its plans for the current season lowkey as it completed its shakedown on February 24.
Fernando Alonso, who extended his contract with the Silverstone-based outfit, will take the AMR25 out on track first on both day one and day two followed by his teammate Lance Stroll. However, it will be the Canadian who gets the morning session on the final day with the Spaniard closing out the testing for Aston Martin.
#Alpine
Alpine did its shakedown of the A525 at the Sakhir International Circuit a day before the pre-season testing starts in Bahrain in the hands of rookie Jack Doohan.
The Aussie will only get first dibs on the 2025 challenger on the first and last days while driving under the lights in the middle day. However, all eyes will be on Pierre Gasly as he takes over the role as team leader at the French team this year.
#Haas
Similar to Alpine, Haas F1 too had a filming day in Bahrain but they did it on February 24, two days before testing. The American team will look to build on a successful 2024 campaign and make progress in the final year of the current regulations.
Esteban Ocon, who moved to Haas from Alpine, will take his VF-25 out under the lights twice in three days and have a chance to drive in the morning session in the middle day. Oliver Bearman, however, will have the honor of jumping in the car first on Day 1 and Day 3 before passing on to his French teammate.
#Visa Cash App Racing Bulls
The Visa Cash App Racing Bulls F1 team has already won the hearts of the fans with its livery for the 2025 season. The white on the VCARB-02 compliments the Red Bull logo on the front wing and top merging with blue on the back perfectly. The Faenza-based outfit have been closely associated with the senior team in the offseason which might bear fruit on track in 2025.
The first two days of the testing will see Yuki Tsunoda take the car out in the morning session followed by his new teammate Isack Hadjar. But the rookie will take the responsibility of going out in the morning on the final day with the Japanese closing out the testing for VCARB.
#Williams F1
Williams F1 are arguably one of the teams to watch out for throughout the 2025 season with a strong lineup of drivers, Carlos Sainz and Alex Albon. The Grove-based outfit had an underwhelming 2024 campaign, which was riddled with problems on and off the track and saw them finish P9 in the constructors championship.
The Thai driver, who will start in his fourth year with the British team, will be the first out of the garage on Day 1 followed by his Spanish teammate. Sainz, who moved to Williams from Ferrari, will have the entire Day 2 to himself before giving FW-47 to Albon for the entire Day 3.
#Sauber
Sauber have an interesting year ahead of them given it will be the final team that they would be racing with in terms of the name before it is taken over by Audi in 2026. The Hinwil-based outfit will hope for a better season to mark off the end of the era and move up the grid in 2025 after finishing last in 2024.
Nico Hulkenberg, who moved from Haas F1, and F2 champion Gabriele Bortoleto will drive the 2025 F1 challenger in the pre-season testing in Bahrain. The German will start proceedings on both day one and day two before giving the car to his rookie teammate but will return to the track in the evening session of day three to close out testing for the Swiss team.
#TBA
Only two F1 teams on the grid, McLaren and Ferrari, are yet to announce their driver lineup for each day of the F1 testing in Bahrain.
